DA: X10 TIMA'S STORY
by Darwin
Summary: 11 years after being abandoned by Manticore, Tima is still looking for a way to go back. Tima falls to theivery to survive, and ends up preying on the wrong person, or perhaps it is the right person. AU 2 in Projection
1. Predator and Prey?

X-10: Tima's Story

All right as promised I have decided to post this in chapters, with more material, just as I did with Blinded. I hope that you will enjoy it. Please read often and review. 

Enjoy!

Darwin

The year is 2030... 

Chapter One: Predator and Prey? 

Look at them…People move by on the street like they have a purpose... Moving through their lives like they know what's going on... They haven't got a clue... I certainly don't... 

But that doesn't mean I can't enlighten them, at least, to my way of thinking.

A shadow separated itself from the general pitch of the alley leaping lightly up from the damp asphalt and assuming a perch just off ground level on a rusted out garbage bin. The slim figure looked out the small slit between buildings watching the street beyond. She might have been a child but for the well-developed figure and shapely hips that gave her catlike and very adult grace.

What little light reached her played over the soft features of her ageless face. Her cheeks were rounded, her nose flat, her eyes slightly slanted. The skin was a shade darker than tan, and flawless as if carved from porcelain with expert hands. Fine, straight, and Jet-black hair framed her features. Right now it was styled, as it always was when she was on the prowl, her job was easier if her hair remained out of her face. It was slicked back and put up in a doubled up ponytail with the ends gelled in stiff spikes to poke over the crown of her head. 

It was hard to say for certain what nationality she was, she could have been Asian, Hispanic, Puerto Rican, Indian or any combination of them. She easily blended into each culture, becoming just as the others around her, inconspicuous. It was a blessed trait. Those who did notice her speculated on her heritage. That usually happened only when they could get a good look at her eyes. Green eyes and an Asian descent were contradictory to one another, and it was a reason for people to pause and stare at her. Her eyes were the color of dark emeralds, and her pupils were slightly oblong, almost like a cat. The disparity was enough to know there was something unusual about her. 

She straightened her five foot four frame, making herself more comfortable as she continued with her observation. She was wearing a long sleeved, high collared, and corset tight jacket, with a spiral of drawn silver covering each forearm and pinning the sleeves in place. She wore matching pair of black leather pants and black combat boots to protect her feet. Her hands remained bare, gloves were a hindrance to her when she worked. 

Not to know it from her look but she had been living on the streets since she was very little, eking out a living, as only she knew how. She had been forced to it, forced by her will and training to survive no matter what, and no matter how she managed it. 

Along the way she had picked up a few idiosyncrasies. Adorning her left nostril were two white gold nose rings linked to her left ear by a matching chain. That same ear held a line of five progressively smaller studs looking as if a line of dew had been trapped in the curve of her small lobe, and the right ear, in contrast, was unadorned. 

The effect of her adornments, of her dress, of her whole style was exactly what she wanted, figuring that if she was a bit on the gaudy side people would discount her other unusual traits. And it worked, most people were still to courteous to be caught staring at her punk-stylings. She looked out at the street and sighed again, understanding that she had been on her own a long time, realizing again just how lonely this life was.

She knew though that it had not always been this way, once she'd had a home, and known what it was like to belong. Her hand raised to her brow feeling for the bar code emblazoned there, as her thoughts slipped back. 

It was safe there, I remember, warm, with lots of kids like me to talk to. There were those older, and younger than me as well as those in my class. Some of them older and younger had my own face, minus maybe the emerald eyes or the catty pupils, but the variety was such that I wasn't creeped out. Actually I'm not sure if it would have creeped me out anyway, back there it was normal.

We were all training to be soldiers, for me and for some of the others it was easy and almost boring. I was the top of my class going through school, in everything. I finished tasks in one-third the time of many of my classmates. They were supportive of me proud of my accomplishments, instructors and fellows alike, even though I was only five. But there were always those jealous ones within the classes, and those made my lives miserable. They couldn't outthink, or outmaneuver me, but taunts, even if you are in training to be a soldier hurt, and kids, being what they are tend to tag along with the worst of the troublemakers, just to keep out of the limelight themselves. And to think the instructors called those kind leaders!

I remember being pulled aside by my commander and taken to an interrogation room. I wasn't scared, they had done this before, training for psyche warfare. But this time was different, there were three men in the room when I was brought in, two were my instructors in various matters of my training, the other... was Lydecker... he may as well have been my father. He of all people had been the one who had given her her name…Tima.

I looked at my instructor as he began to speak, "I thought you should see her... she is exceptional even for this group, averaging two years ahead of her peers and learning at an exponential rate," He finished sounding almost proud of me. 

Lydecker only nodded pursing his lips, "I've reviewed her file and her training tapes..." He looked at my head instructor, "Transfer her to our Oregon Base, I have a group there that she would fit into nicely." 

So it was that I was packed up and shipped out that very day, headed for an even more advanced group of kids than the one I was in. I was thrilled, it was a chance to be more equally appreciated for what I could do, it was a chance to prove my mettle to Lydecker and the others. 

Only we never made it, I never knew whether it was a missile, a bomb or a mine, but there was a deafening explosion and the truck disintegrated around me, bucking violently as bright flames filled the space of the bed. I was spared only because I was sitting against the tailgate and thrown free with the force of the explosion. As it was I took a piece of shrapnel just above my collarbone. When I had regained consciousness I had searched for my escorts, only to find them in tatters in what remained of the cab. I was now alone, wounded and in a strange place.

I waited a long time by the wreckage... waiting for those who loved me to come and rescue me. I was getting steadily weaker as I waited, but I held on stubbornly for a week. Then I was forced by necessity and the severity of my injury to move on. 

Present:

Tima blinked back the tears that were threatening yet again after eleven years. She still felt betrayed that Lydecker had never sought her out. Tima was a Manticore X-10, better, faster, and stronger than all the generations that had preceded her. Her fingers moved slowly again over the barcode between her brows. The genetically programmed pigment that identified her and the memories were the only reminders of her Manticore training now and they held no comfort. 

All generations of Manticore Kids post Generation six were bar-coded on their foreheads to make eluding pursuit harder than it had been for the twelve X-5 kids who had willfully escaped Manticore. Tima still couldn't understand why X-5 would be driven to escape their life at Manticore. What did they find was so horrible about their treatment there? They were carefully avoided as a subject in Manticore except what one generation passed to the next on their daring escape. 

'09 X-5's had become a myth, a legend, just like the Nomalies in the basement. Some of her predecessors had even tried to emulate them. Those few who did were immediately caught and reprogrammed, and that made the rest much too scared to consider crossing Lydecker. 

All she wanted to do was go back... back to a place where she had been appreciated... loved even. Not the non-entity that she found herself now, back there she had been possessed of a purpose. Slowly her hand went slack at her side. 

She shook out her body and her mind trying to focus on the task at hand. She had put what Manticore training she had to good use if only to keep herself alive, hunting in the countryside and stealing when she came to a city. She had passed many towns and cities since her life was turned upside down and none had ever held her. 

Tima's goal originally had been to travel to the base she had been destined for upon her transfer from the Wyoming installation. It had been a long, lonely two-year trek that ended in a deep seeded disappointment. She had arrived at the Oregon base only to find that it had been abandoned. The installation was only a burned out husk when she arrived, and no trace of where the operation had moved was evident. This only deepened Tima's feeling of dejection. 

After that she had no desire to try and trek back to her starting point. She had been afraid to find Wyoming in the same state. There was always a part of her that had hoped one day Lydecker would come for her and welcome her home. It had yet to happen and now her travels had led her to this city. 

She had only been here about a month. But she had been frugal on her travels, lifting enough not only to keep her alive, but to set her up if and when she ever decided to settle in a spot for a while. She had found herself weary of travel when she had arrived here. She had decided it was time, time to stay put, and perhaps Lydecker would finally catch up with her. Maybe, just maybe he would bring her back into the fold of the world that she understood. 

She was housing herself in a pretty swank apartment in the better part of the city, she had used the money she had been saving up the last eleven years to not only lease the place but to get furnishings for it. That had depleted most of it and she was going to have to skive some of the locals to build her money back up again, and remain able keep the pricey apartment. She had to maintain her status quo and so she came out to replenish her dwindling funds the only way she knew how. 

Tima focused her eyes again on the sliver of street before her. She had been here in this spot for a week now, scoping out the prospects of the area. This was the uptown district, an area that looked as if the Pulse, which had reduced much of the country to poverty, had never touched it. Here there were a lot of high-level town officials, organized crime bosses, multi billion dollar company CEO's. Crooks all of them, she knew, cutthroats and brigands the lot of them, happy to step on the little people in any given area for a few hundred thousand dollars. 

These were the new fiefdoms, and the people in this area were the local and tyrannical lords and landowners. Her conscience need not be pricked if she should free them of some of their hardly earned excess. She glanced around at the thickening afternoon crowd thinking over her list of prospective hits, and realizing that she had already decided on the person that she would hit this week. She had already memorized his patterns and knew that he would be by soon. Slowly she tied the bandanna around her head and waited patiently.


	2. Contact!

Chapter 2: Contact! 

Tima continued to scan the street, glancing occasionally at her watch, knowing that her target should be coming by soon. Her heart leapt as the man she was watching for appeared, strolling through the rush hour crowd of people returning from work. She knew that he had no office job, she had followed him several times to see what his occupation might be. The man had only visited several different places where he made contact with different people. These were anything from businessmen, to police inspectors to bums off of the street. She had an impression that the man was some sort of Private Investigator. He always left at different times each day, but always seemed to manage to return the same time or window of time every day.

She watched her target closely as she had done every day for the last five. She was intent that today was a day that she was going to act. He was a man in his mid to late thirties. He was fairly tall with a medium build and his features were welcome and charming, very handsome. His hair was dishwater blond almost to the point of being brown, with just a show of gray starting at his temples. He stood out in this crowd not because he was flaunting his wealth, as some of the men and women she had seen. Those were the ones who had come into their money suddenly and recently, the ones that had to prove to the world just how wealthy they were. They were stupid for it, especially in these times, when flaunting such wealth almost certainly would paint targets. But she was not interested in those, they were small potatoes to the man she was currently keeping tabs on.

No, this man was rather understated. He wore casual clothes, upscale but not outrageous, as now with a dark turtleneck sweater and cargo pants. Most would mistake him for a regular Joe, working to earn his keep. Tima saw him as a man who had been used to having money for a long time, and felt no need to advertise it to casual onlookers. He stood out as a lighthouse on a cliff amongst the others she had cased. But in the business she was in she had come to know what to look for.

It was his mannerisms that gave him away, he was way too confident in the way that he moved even with the slight limp that was in his step. He looked everyone in the face with his blue eyes as if daring them to smile for him. That in and of itself was unusual in these troubled times, it stood out as if he was wearing gold bands on all of his fingers. Every move that he made spoke of wealth and Tima was going to relieve him of just a little bit of it today. 

The man passed by her perch and Tima slipped down from her perch and fell in behind his steadily moving pace. He walked through and with the crowd as it moved further up the street, cutting across at the light and heading for a glass fronted building that was abounding with rich snobs who thumbed their noses down on the people moving to and from their places of work.

Normally this is where she would stop, allowing the man to cross into the complex without a tail, in case he suspected he was being followed. A precaution, even considering that the man had shown not even the slightest hint that he knew of her presence. Today however she was going to follow him in and given an opportunity, lighten his wallet.

The man forced himself to continue walking as he felt an all too familiar presence fall in behind him. He had been feeling it for the past several days now... someone was watching him. They were discreet to be sure but his sixth sense was picking it up none the less. There was a target on his back and he knew it. It always started in the same area and followed such a set pattern as to only be a threat. 

Someone had figured out, (not that it was hard to discover, all they had to do was watch him walk into his building day after day to know. This was a high rent district, after all and employee's didn't walk in through the front entrance.), that he was a very wealthy man, and the person obviously thought that he could use some help being charitable. He drew a deep breath and let it out slowly, making himself relax, telling himself not to quicken his pace, and not to give away the fact that he knew the person was there. If and when this threat came through he was going to give them a hell of a surprise.

He continued on as he had every other day this week, hoping that foreboding feeling would fade, as before, when he reached home. Whoever it was had always stopped before entering the High Rise. He was prepared if he was attacked for sure, but did not want to resort to that. Today it seemed was going to be different for the feeling moved to the periphery of his senses and stayed there, blurring his sight as his concentration stayed on who was behind him. He tried to judge just how much of a threat this person posed to him. So far it was not extreme, so the attack was not imminent. It was however going to be soon.

"So today, huh?" He thought as he entered the moving tide of people across the street. 

He hoped that security would deter the perp at the doors, that he was going to have a peaceful day. Again he was not counting on that, everything about it had changed today. He entered the lobby relaxing slightly as the sensation fell well behind him, and he knew that the would-be assailant had paused. 

Tima followed at a distance not willing just yet to give away her intention. She watched as he angled across the street toward his building and entered. His pace was leisurely, and she relaxed, for a moment she had thought he was aware of her. She closed the gap between them as he entered the glass double doors, not wanting to lose him in the lobby of the high rise residence. She slowed to a walk as she neared the guards putting on a good act of belonging in the building. The guard on the right just smiled, nodded, and opened the door for her, obviously jaded to the sometimes-eccentric appearances of the residents. She smiled in return and nodded curtly before turning her attention back to the lobby. 

Tima's eyes searched for frantic moments not seeing her target and fearing that she had lost him altogether. She was cursing herself under her breath for not keeping a tighter leash on her prey. She continued to move so as not to look out of place, stopping and looking lost was going to get her the wrong kind of attention. As she neared the elevators she caught a glimpse of him stepping into the furthest one. How fortuitous it was that he had stepped in with no other company. She might even be able to fleece him before they got to his floor, wherever that was. 

Heartened by her good luck she quickened her pace to catch him before the elevator left the floor, "Hold the elevator!" She hollered across the lobby, in the hopes of stalling him. The man's eyes came up with a start and he slapped a hand on the door to halt its closure. It slid back again sensing something between the doors and as the man stepped back, she leapt inside, "Thank you," she wheezed falsely pretending that the exertion had winded her. 

"You OK?" he asked in mild concern, she only nodded, panting for effect, "What floor?" He asked her as the car started to rise without her choice in floors. She had herself a Good Samaritan, all the better. He would never know what hit him. 

His question caught her off guard, however, and Tima straightened slightly, quickly scanning the buttons and picking one at random, "34 please," She panted, noticing also that he was headed for the penthouse. 

"Rich indeed," she thought. This was going to be a better haul than she had intended, but she was going to have to move on him soon. 

The man had lost his tail as he had moved into the elevator. Security evidentially had held the perp at bay… that was a good thing. He had heard her voice shouting for the Elevator, and looking up he saw a young woman running toward him. He reacted automatically, not so thick-skinned as to hog the lift all for himself. She slipped in panting and wheezing as if she had run from the doors to the Elevator. He found that odd, but didn't comment on it. As he pushed the button for her requested floor he looked at the girl and asked, "Are you new here?" She wasn't familiar to him, and he knew most if not all of the people living in his complex.

"Um, Yeah," She replied, "I just moved in." 

She hadn't sounded sure of her own answer, and a warning flag went off in his head. It was followed closely by a sudden pang of anxiety, telling him that he was in danger…that something was going to happen and soon. He wondered what threat was posed to him, and then his eyes drifted down to the slim figure sharing his ride and his heart froze. She was the source of his danger and the moment when she would act was coming soon. He frowned, knowing that he was going to have to break his promise to himself if she should follow through with her intent. (Whatever that might be.)

He shook his head, smiling, and realizing he was getting way too paranoid for his own good. At this rate he was going to get an Ulcer. He could be wrong about this feeling…it certainly was possible. But then he saw a change in her face. Even forewarned he almost reacted too late.

Tima spun quickly aiming a blow for the man's neck. It would be enough to put him out but not enough to kill him. Like Sheep, she would only sheer them, not kill them, only alive could they keep producing for her. This should be the easiest take she had accomplished since coming to this city. She was therefore surprised when her blow never landed and she focused to find that somehow he had blocked her blow with one forearm. His stormy blue eyes narrowed in anger and awareness. 

Fear of failure flooded through her, how was he able to block her strike? She remained paralyzed by shock for only a moment knowing that she should not allow her prey to prepare any further. Tima lashed out again with a combination of kicks and punches, utilizing her extraordinary speed in their execution. Both punches he blocked easily and as her foot neared him he captured it between his arm and his body. With lightning speed his right foot came out hooking her behind the left heel and sending her crashing butt first to the floor of the car. He was on top of her in a moment, not giving her any window to recover, pinning her chest with one knee and folding her other leg up. That he pinned in position with his left knee and shoulder, placing her in an awkward pretzel like position, hindering her movement. 

"Who are you?" he growled, and then his eyes widened in shock as he got a good look at her face. Sometime during the scuffle she had lost her bandanna and exposed her tattoo, but was it that or was it just her unusual eyes? "Why are you after me?" He growled menacingly at her. 

About that time the bell chimed for the 34th floor and he turned his attention to the lighted display at the top of the car. Tima was not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. With all her strength she pushed out with her leg unbalancing him and sending him sprawling backwards into the wall of the car. Not looking back she jumped to her feet and bolted out the closing door into the hallway beyond. 

He leapt to his feet and made a valiant attempt to follow her, intent on getting answers for her aborted assault. He practically pancaked himself to the double doors as they snapped shut. He swore loudly in the empty car as it resumed its upward travel. 

The man slapped his palm angrily on the door, frustrated with himself for letting her get away so easily. He flopped against one side of the car crossing his arms and legs, shaking his head and snorting, "You let another one get near you. Damn Logan, you're slowing down."


	3. Questions

Chapter 3: Questions 

Logan waited impatiently for the elevator to hit the penthouse, before he could reset it to go back down to the 34th floor. Muttering under his breath, he waited for it to open, close, and head back down again, the whole process seeming to take forever. He sighed heavily, patience had never been his strong suit. His annoyance was exacerbated by a multitude of questions that pounded around the inside of his head both for and about the girl. He ran a hand through his unruly hair sighing heavily and feeling the rising bruise on his shoulder where he had hit the wall. A moment's inattention…that was all it took, and his body was going to pay for it now. 

The woman had chosen her floor for escape extremely well. This particular elevator went from 34 to the penthouse floors without stopping in between and that gave her about a 20-minute window of time to get away. Logan was almost certain that she was no longer in the building, much less still hiding on the 34th floor where she had escaped him. Regardless of that suspicion, he was going to check out the floor…he had to be sure she had in fact escaped him or it would eat him alive not knowing the "ifs".

The chime once again cut into his concentration and he slowly looked up as his heart rate soared again. As the doors slid away Logan stepped out into the brightly-lit hallway. He looked cautiously to the right and left before pressing further forward into relatively unknown territory. He closed his eyes a moment trying to read anything, assessing the danger still in the area, and scanning the people within his range. Logan sighed heavily. Nothing…not even a twinge of danger, which was almost a 100 percent assurance that she was no longer here. He pressed on anyway, not trusting completely to what his head was telling him, and despite the evidence over the years of just how effective that sense was. Every fiber of his being strained to pick up a sense of her, primed and ready in the event that another assault fell upon him. 

Logan headed left slowly walking and scanning with his eyes for some sign of the girl. The hall was deserted, either his downstairs neighbors were already settled in for the night or else they had not returned yet. He moved slowly, methodically down the hall, pausing every few yards to cast about with his senses, but the results were the same, there was no sign of her. He ran into a few residents, but his inquiries about the girl met blank looks. Frowning, Logan realized that she had probably jumped the second elevator right back down to the lobby. 

His mind slipped back again to what had happened. He had to admit he was damned impressed with his own performance. He had stopped the girl's attack easily and had made it look like he defended himself for a living. That could be no further from the truth. It had been years since he had even thought about using what Max had taught him, not since... He swallowed hard as another emotion threatened to spill over again. He shook his head slightly, clamping down on that train of thought, now was not the time for a rehash those events. Despite all evidence to the contrary, it was very possible that the girl was still here, and he need not put himself into a vulnerable position with the pains from the past. That girl had gotten the better of him before because he had let his guard down and he was not going to make the same mistake twice. 

Logan slowed again as he came to the corner, peering around it to ensure the hall was clear. He moved systematically covering every inch of the floor for her presence or for clues as to where she had disappeared. He inspected each door for signs of forced entry, pausing to listen to what was going inside, straining with his newer senses to assess the danger level inside. Still there was no evidence of his assailant and short of knocking on each door there was no more he could do.

"Another Manticore..." He thought, picturing the girl in his mind. It was a set of features he would not soon forget. She had an Asian face rounded and soft featured, but her eyes…They were unusual in and of themselves, he had never seen anyone of that descent with such bright green eyes. To think of it, he had never seen eyes that green on any human he had ever met. That had marked her as something, someone different. Concentrating he could see clearly the bar code branded on her forehead. He had told Max once that the barcode was the mark of Cain. It was a blatant marker that she was made, she was a Manticore creation.

"She is even younger than Max when we first met," he thought as he finished his futile search. His walk slowed as he returned to the elevator access intent on heading up to his apartment. There was no use in going to the lobby to try and track her, if she was not here she certainly would not hang around within easy reach of him. This was something that he was going to have to think on, it was very possible that he was going to have to step up his vigilance. Something told him that this would not be the last he saw of the girl, despite her escape today.

He pressed the button to call the elevator back to his floor musing over the possible purpose of the Manticore's attack. Could Lydecker be back again? Logan wouldn't put it past the man; he was tenacious when it came to the recovery of his "Children". He had come before, or sent operatives in his place, once they discovered Logan's tie to Max. They had never managed to discern exactly where he lived, even though they had tried numerous times. He and Max had always managed to obscure there trail when they returned home…until. He squashed that hopeless feeling rising within him at that thought again. What was done was done, pining about it only made things worse.

But, it had been three years since the last attempt. What was it that had brought them back, yet again, into his life? Wasn't the last time enough for them? Had they not caused him enough pain? It said something about their intelligence in the matter if they didn't know about Max, that they didn't know she was gone. But Lydecker was there…he would know, and if he knew then there was no reason to send another soldier to his door. 

Another thought occurred to him, one that sent a shiver over his skin. It was possible perhaps that they knew what had happened to him, that they knew what he had become. His heart sank a moment at the prospect and he prayed that was not the case. A sudden picture of himself in a small dank cell and endless experimentation surfaced in his mind making him shiver. If it were true they would send more to find him, and he was not certain that he was prepared to defend himself against a whole squad of Lydecker's supersoldiers.

The elevator chimed its arrival startling Logan out of his contemplation. He took one last look down the hallways before stepping in and returning to his Penthouse apartment. 

Tima sat on the plush scarlet couch in her apartment staring at a point on the low table in front of her. Her thoughts were turned inward as could be told by the slight frown that dragged the corners of her mouth down. She was replaying the day's events in her mind, the images looping over and over as she studied his face the set of his body and the events that had led her to a retreat. What had happened? She had gotten her butt kicked by a man over twice her age that was what happened. 

Tima chewed a nail, as she stared unfocused across the room. He had anticipated her move somehow, and his speed! He possessed Manticore fast reflexes, nearly as fast as her own and she had been on the upper end of the scale in speed. There were not many that she knew who could match her in a fight. This man had not only matched her he had beat her. She discounted some of that as surprise, he had caught her off guard with his skill and speed, and that had given him an advantage over her. She shook her head to no one, it was something that she wouldn't let happen twice that was for sure.

"Could he be one of us?" she thought as an excited twinge went off in her belly. Had she found another? Was he someone who could take her back to where she belonged after so many long years on the road? 

Tima shook her head disregarding the thought as it soured in her mind. He was much too old to be a Manticore soldier. Even the few X-1's she had seen weren't that old, the man who had fought her off was at least five years older than they were. Perhaps he belonged to another country's supersoldier program, and was here under a special op. No, that did not fit with her pretty extensive knowledge of foreign Super-soldier programs. The man fit none of the profiles that she had stored in her head. An aberration then, or a prototype that had not been made available to her sources. He could even be a rogue product that had been quietly swept under the rug by an agency already in existence, someone that they could never track down. She smiled having heard of many cases where the product ended up being smarter than the people who created them. It was even true of some Manticore.

"Even so, how did he beat you?" She mused, angry, because she knew that she was the best of her group, and she should be better than some old run down man, even if he was a SS from another project.

Tima stood abruptly, pent energy and frustration causing her to pace. She toyed with her second earring as she continued to analyze the situation. She was angry with herself, she had let the opportunity slip by her. She kicked herself now for not trying to take him down on the street. He had possessed the advantage of being in his own territory. Outside the crowds confusion would have made her job easier and made escape for him damn near impossible. 

Looking back on her time staking the man out she realized that he had known, somehow, all along that she had been watching him. He had never come near her perch in the alley, never presented himself as an easy target as she followed him. He never appeared to avoid her on purpose, she had never seen him veer from her where she had hidden, but those simple clues stood out glaringly now telling her that she had somehow given herself away.

Tima grimaced again back to chewing her fingernail. What was she going to do? She was getting extremely low on funds, and her next month's rent was due in only a few days. It would take weeks of preparation to set another one of her potential marks up. She had invested so much time in this one man. Stubbornness welled up within Tima, determined that she should not have to do that. She had one already on line and all the details worked out. No she was going to have to try again and this time she was going to hit his place while he was away. Besides she was forewarned, and that meant that she was forearmed. She snapped her fingers thinking that this should be cake!

She busied herself over the next few hours making sure that she had all supplies ready for a stake out. Smiling broadly she stepped back out of the apartment, confident that she would do better this time.


	4. Take Two

Chapter 4: Take Two 

Tima entered the towering building of her mark quietly having found a back entrance. She stepped into what looked like a service area there were many bins in the room filled to different levels with tablecloths, linen napkins and other such stuff from the lobby's restaurant. She noticed this only in passing dodging between the rolling bins and avoiding several workers on their dinner break. She paused briefly at the door opening it only a crack and scanning the hallway beyond her. She sighed seeing no one about or at least in the vicinity of the laundry room. She cracked the door sliding quickly through it and closing it quietly behind her.

As she stepped into the lobby she assumed an air of belonging, sauntering past several ritzy shops trying to gouge the infrequent customer. She paused several times along the way looking with vague interest over the baubles reflecting the lighting. She continued on heading in the general direction of the elevators. Tima smiled to herself as she stepped into a waiting car realizing the timing could not have been more perfect. She had arrived just after the evening rush of returning workers, and knew with this lot that no one would be stirring until about nine in the evening. That meant that the elevator car was hers alone, and that furthered her plans quite nicely. She had wanted to go all the way to the top but found that the penthouse was card-coded and therefore inaccessible with the tools that she had. So she would make up for that fact with her skills. She punched a button that would take her closest to her desired floor. There was a pang as she realized that it was the same on which she had so narrowly escaped before. That edged on her nerves until she reminded herself that she wasn't even going to see the carpet in the hall. 

As the door closed and the car began to rise she made herself relax. She looked up scrutinizing the ceiling with emerald eyes picking the line that showed the access hatch. Stretching high she pulled it open it and lifted herself easily through it. Landing lightly on the roof of the car she replaced the panel and then looked up, watching the distance between her and the roof shrink quickly. 

Tima gathered herself as she felt the change in the momentum of the car as it reached the designated floor. She heard the muted ding of the announcement and again turned her eyes up the elevator shaft. Taking little time she judged her jump and easily cleared the distance between her and the ledge above the car. She made several zigzagging leaps across the shaft until she ended up on a small ledge just above the protective doors to the penthouse floor. 

Smiling to herself Tima chose a comfortable pose knowing that she was in for a wait. But she figured, hey it was Friday night, sooner or later her mark was going to get out of the place for the night. 

She did not relish the idea of meeting the man again. She kept trying to tell herself that she could take him now that she had the measure of his ability. Yet a small part of her wondered, "Can I really?" She tried not to think about it as the minutes stretched into long hours.

Logan sat at his computer typing instructions for his latest investigation, wondering silently if he would ever gain on the avalanche of corruption he was up against. Oh well it did keep him busy. 

He heard Bling step up behind him, even though a part of his mind had kept track of the man through the house all day, an ability that was as natural as breathing now. Bling said, "More to do?" Just to make conversation. 

Logan took a deep breath and pushed himself away from the table looking at his watch. He had been here three hours now gathering information, "Yeah, still fighting the good fight," He replied looking up at Bling with a sly smile. 

"Well, I'm done. I'm gonna go home," Bling said amiably. 

Logan nodded, "Thanks Bling, See you Monday then." 

Bling smiled again, "Don't stay on that too late. There are other things to do on a Friday." 

Logan's smile broadened, "I won't." 

With that Bling departed and Logan watched him go, wondering why he still came around. Logan had originally hired Bling as a personal trainer to help with his therapy while he was still paraplegic. That had taken on another facet when Logan had let him in on Eyes Only and Bling had gladly taken on the added duty of being Logan's bodyguard. 

Now-a-days Logan needed neither a physical therapist nor a bodyguard and Bling knew it. He had seen Logan's progression from chair-bound to walking to what he had become now. In Logan's mind that was astonishing. Had he been in Bling's shoes, he would have vacated the moment those abilities had started to emerge. Logan could only guess that Bling was jaded by his dealing's with Max, and figured anything that happened around her was to be expected, no matter out of the ordinary or downright odd it seemed. He still came around doing things for Eyes-Only and other things around Logan's house, and while Logan appreciated it he wondered sometimes if he wasn't holding Bling back from something bigger and better. 

Logan sighed and shrugged. Bling seemed content to stay, even when Logan offered to let him off the hook. Who was Logan to judge Bling's motives, and Logan was happy to have him around. 

Logan pushed that thorny problem to the back of his mind and leaning forward, re-immersed himself in his work. 

Tima was nearly asleep when things began to happen for her. She started awake as the car chimed under her perch. She was instantly alert watching and listening as the car opened. She distinctly heard a set of feet step from the apartment and into the elevator. She smiled slyly to herself, and as the elevator descended down the shaft she prepared herself for the nights work. She was confident that she would not be disturbed tonight.

Lowering herself onto the small ledge of the Penthouse, Tima pried open the protective doors and slipped through into the foyer. The entryway was astounding to her, she had never seen such a display of wealth in her short life. If the Foyer looked like this she could only imagine the treasures that awaited her inside the penthouse. The walls were completely done in lacquered hardwood and the tan carpet was plush under her feet. She shook herself loose of the hypnotizing grandeur of the entryway, and made herself step over to the door. She touched her ear to the wall listening intently for the subsonic noise that would indicate an active alarm system. She smiled again, hearing only silence, "You would think someone with a place like this would protect it better while they're gone!" she mused. 

Crouching down, Tima pulled out her very expensive lock-picking device and inserted it into the knob. With a satisfying click the door unlocked and she straightened pushing the door inward and stepping quietly inside. Her eyes widened as she took in the understated but definitely expensive decor the owner had chosen. It was obvious that it had been a studio at one point all of the walls appeared to be postproduction additions.

Everywhere she looked there were priceless artifacts, statues and paintings. It was a Burglar's paradise in here! She continued to move through the place examining the decorations, putting the small expensive ones into her fanny-pack.

Logan had become absorbed in his work again, and his attention only shifted slightly when he heard the door the open again. He figured Bling had returned to pick up something that he had forgotten. He resumed typing his query, when his internal radar told him that it wasn't Bling. A shot of adrenaline surged through him and his eyes slowly moved up. He pushed up out of his chair ensuring that it made no noise and shut down his system. Logan cautiously moved out of his study heading toward the front door. 

He looked down the hall before moving, looking for and not finding the intruder his radar said was inside his place. Arriving at the door he found it ajar and peering out toward the elevator he found the protective doors open and no car in the shaft. His mouth thinned as he pieced together what was going on. The face of the girl flashed into his mind again and his expression became grimmer. 

"She must have been waiting nearby for me to leave," He thought, "Boy will she be surprised."

He was confused for a moment, "Why would she wait for you to leave?" that analytical part of his brain said, "If it is the Manticore she would want you here not away."

Perhaps he was mistaken about the signature of his intruder, perhaps it was one of the burglars that was roaming the area. That would be a better scenario than the one that he was currently mulling over. 

Logan quickly closed the door and set the perimeter alarm just on the offhand chance he couldn't handle it on his own. His ears pricked up at the sound of quiet noises coming from the other side of his house. He gravitated that direction, cautious not to alert the intruder of his presence. 

Logan's heart leapt with anxiety when he found the girl from the Elevator rumaging through his drawers and socking away some of his smaller priceless artifacts. 

"Now if this isn't Deja Vu I don't know what is," Logan thought with amusement. Out loud he said, "See anything that you like?" Watching with satisfaction as she near jumped out of her skin. 

She was braced against the dresser she had been rooting through nearly pinching her fingers. She looked at him with an expression a bit like a cornered animal. She recovered from her shock quickly and Logan watched, as her fear became determination. She assumed a position that told him she was ready to fight.

Tima glanced about her looking for another exit, only there wasn't one. The only exit was a window and that would not suffice unless she knew how to fly. Her only avenue of escape was through him. What was he doing home? She had heard him leave, she knew she had, and yet here he stood cornering her in. There was a smug look on his face, evidentially happy with her evident consternation. There was an underlying emotion there that she could not quite pin down. Tima didn't feel like sticking around to analyze it either.

She rushed him, realizing too late how quickly his attitude shifted from amused curiosity to battle readiness. Tima feinted back as she neared him, throwing his timing off, and when she lashed out with a backhand she connected squarely with his cheek. A thrill of victory flashed through her adding to her strength. That vanished as she watching his head whipped to the side, only to have him return the gaze to her face. He was angry now as he said quietly, "Are we going to have to do this again?" He lashed out using both palms to push her back. She was unprepared for the act and the force by which she hit the dresser behind. 

Undaunted and now fearful Tima rushed back in trying to get him in a position where she could slide past and escape, but he was ready for her and he was good. He matched her blow for blow and slowly she began to realize that he was only fighting defensively, only keeping her at bay and trying to tire her out. She smiled as she realized it and attacked with renewed fury, beating at his defenses and breaking them down. She was starting to come out on top as she began to connect more that she was blocked. 

She was therefore totally surprised when she on her next punch he captured her fist and before she could even blink had twisted it around behind her slamming her into the wall. She tried to back him up but she couldn't budge him. He pulled her away from the wall dragging her by her twisted arm into another larger room. He pushed her hard toward the couch and she spun back around to face him. He was wiping blood off his cheek, glaring at her. He was breathing hard and she could see the shaking that was now prominent in his frame. She could see he was out of practice, but there was no doubt that he was good. 

"Sit Down!" he said gruffly, "You owe me some answers." 


	5. Introductions

OK for those of you who read the story in it's original form you will note that this is two chapters rolled back into one. It only seemed fitting, as I could not build on the information that I had as chapter five enough to make it plausible and still remain true to the genesis of this particular story.

Thanks to those of you, who have reviewed, and for those who have not yet please do so I know how you like this souped up version!

Thanks!

Darwin

Chapter five: Introductions 

Tima stood defiant in the middle of the living room, while the man stared at her arms crossed over his chest. Her mind was racing as she went over possible avenues of escape. There had to be a way out of here and away from this man who had beaten her twice now…only she didn't see any. As much from indecision as anything she remained standing, defying this man whom had thwarted her twice now. 

"Sit Down!" He barked sounding on the edge of losing his patience. 

Tima jumped, not something that she was prone to, but the voice had held such authority. It was a tone that she had not heard in some years, and despite herself her body responded, like a good soldier. She watched as the man's stance relaxed ever so slightly at seeing her settle into the chair. He had obviously expected more of a fight out of her than he had gotten. Tima's eyes continued to dart about the room as if an escape route was going to magically appear. 

When no avenue presented itself like a gift from God Tima shifted her search. She took in the details of her immediate area. Perhaps there was a weapon readily available or something else that would give her back the advantage he had taken away. Unfortunately the man had positioned her well out of reach of anything that could be used against him. Tima sighed heavily realizing that she was not dealing with an ordinary man, not physically and definitely not mentally. 

His bright blue eyes continued to bore into her, gauging her and her last act of defiance was to meet that gaze steadily. The man shifted slightly and then sighed, "So you're from Manticore," he stated, and her chin rose a fraction, she wore what she hoped was a look of confusion. From his expression she could see that she had given him his answer without even saying a word. She watched as he nodded, "I thought so."

Tima cursed herself for allowing that confirmation to come through. 

"And you're not?" she retorted, her anger with herself bleeding heavily into the statement.

He laughed shortly, "No…I'm not," The man looked down for a moment and then asked, "Lydecker sent you didn't he?" It was in a tone that told her that he wasn't sure he wanted the answer.

Her breath caught in her throat at that name and she missed the reluctance in his voice, "How do you know about Lydecker?" Tima hissed. 

He shrugged evading her question with, "I have my sources," There was a drawn out pause where he returned to staring at her, "Why did Lydecker send you here?" He suddenly demanded of her. 

Tima looked away her thoughts churning inside, "Why is he so adamant about Lydecker coming here? Hell, how does he know Lydecker?"

His patience ran short with her as he growled, "Look you either answer my question or I get security up here."

Her eyes were daggers as she looked back on his face, and she wondered silently what damage the truth would be. She finally answered, "No, Lydecker didn't send me here." 

"Then why _are_ you here?" He pressed his eyes narrowing. 

She would not meet his eyes remaining silent. After a moment when she decided he was not going to let her out of giving an answer she said, "You were simply a payday, a girls gotta live," she met his eyes then, "You weren't supposed to be able to defend yourself."

The man laughed again, "No I suppose not. It must have been as much a surprise for you as it was for me to find another Manticore trying to steal from me," He was smiling broadly. 

Tima's eyes shot to his face, "Another?" she breathed. Logan's brows knit together as he noticed the hunger and loneliness in her eyes as she searched his face, "You knew others like me?" 

"A few," The man said cautiously, "Max introduced me to a few."

"Max?" Tima asked in confusion.

He nodded slightly, "She was an X-5."

Tima froze, "X-5?" 

Again he gave a tight almost nonexistent nod, "She was one of the twelve that escaped Manticore in 2009. Max and I were partners for a while, she was a friend..." And something more Tima saw in his eyes. A hollow expression crossed his face just then and there was something else there as well, she wanted to say it was buried pain. 

"But... If you are _not_ Manticore how do you explain your speed... your strength, those are Manticore traits. How?" 

"That is a long story," the man said looking at his hands. 

"Well," Tima sighed, "Unless you're telling me I can go, I think I got the time," she stated dryly, much to curious to want to leave now. 

He was silent for long moments turning a ring on his finger over and over again. He nodded and she thought she heard a small laugh escape him. He looked up at her, a smile turning up one corner of his mouth, "And yet another Manticore wit," He said then motioned her forward, "Come here."

He turned away and moved back down the hall for about ten feet. The man stopped in front of a room she had yet to pilfer before getting caught.

Logan wondered why he was divulging all of his secrets to a complete stranger. They had only just met and under dire circumstances, and yet here he was trusting her, completely with his life story.

"She reminds me of Max so much," Logan admitted to himself. Her mannerisms were very similar, and well her line of work was identical to Max's. He wondered silently if every escaped Manticore turned to stealing, just because they could. He smiled inwardly at that thought.

"She hasn't set me off either," He thought suddenly, "She poses no danger to me, now that I have found her out."

And it was that reason for which he was so forthcoming with the details of his life.

"By the way, my name is Logan, Logan Cale," He said looking down at her, "Just so you have a name to go with the face. You know for the next time you feel it necessary to break in here."

She smiled despite herself, "Tima." 

Logan's head quirked to one side, "Tima? That's unusual." And without any further discussion slid the door open to the room and motioned her to look inside it. 

Tima tore her gaze from his handsome face to look where he was pointing. She took in a nicely decorated study lined with very expensive looking computer and recording equipment. If she had more of a set up and the means by which to get this stuff out of here she knew she could get bank for what she saw here. In the middle of the room standing out like a weed in a flowerbed was an electric blue wheelchair. 

"What's this? And what does it have to do with you?" 

"That... is a reminder, of something I never want to lose again," Logan said enigmatically. She looked at him in confusion, "That used to be my mode of transportation," he clarified.

"What you do break your legs?" Tima said sardonically.

He laughed again shortly but not as if he was amused, "I took a bullet in the back trying to protect a witness. Instant paraplegia." 

"No way!" Tima said unconvinced. 

"Yes way," He said with a straight face. 

"That is an irreversible condition," Tima refuted him. If it was one thing she knew for sure it was medical knowledge. 

He shrugged, "So the doctor said," Logan agreed with her, "And so it was for nearly a year. After the incident they did surgery and removed all but one bullet fragment from my spine. The one they left behind considered too high a risk to remove it, and too close to the spine and two major arteries. 

"That fragment came back to haunt me. It shifted putting pressure on my spine and began causing seizures. I scheduled myself for a surgery the morning after they started, but I never made it to my appointment. I had collapsed when the fragment caused internal bleeding. I was lucky that my friend found me in time to get me to the hospital. I underwent emergency surgery there and then to repair the damage. 

"The fragment was removed but I lost a lot of blood during surgery. The timing was really bad too as the blood bank had been tapped out. 

Max had been going out of country at the time to avoid the wrong kind of attention and I had not mentioned the impending surgery. I knew that Max would have stayed if she had known and at the time I was more concerned about her safety than my own. 

"Somehow, I am still not sure how, Max found out I was in trouble and risked getting caught to come to my aid. Max gave me a lifesaving transfusion," He looked away a moment, "We thought that was it, she had saved my life, and I was very grateful. 

"One day when I wasn't paying attention I happened to hit my foot on a table leg... and I felt it. I hadn't felt anything in nearly a year from the waist down. The idea that sensation had returned was…exciting to say the least. The doctor tried to convince me that I was imagining things, 'Phantom Pains' he said. But he mentioned that there were massive amounts of Pluropotins, undifferentiated stem cells, in my bloodstream. He didn't put it together but I did. The transfusion Max had given me had begun to repair the damage done by the bullet, slowly erasing the paraplegia. 

"After many months, many setbacks, and lots and lots of therapy I was able to walk again. And again, it slipped to the backs of our minds. We were both happy.

"About six years ago, I began to get terrible headaches and eyestrain. When I went to my eye doctor she told me that my glasses were the cause of my problems because my eyes had returned to 20/20," Tima looked confused, "Tima... I've worn glasses my entire life. It was only getting worse as I got older. Miraculously they had returned to normal? It was only the beginning of a long list of things that began to change for me. I was breaking stuff I had handled every day for years. I was typing faster than my computer could keep up. I would walk through my place in the middle of the night with no lights on and see perfectly everything around me. 

"Max had first suggested the correlation between the two. I... I didn't want to believe it. It seemed the DNA in the Pluropotins, Max's DNA not only repaired the damage sustained when I was shot it also began to reengineer my DNA and improve pretty much everything about me. 

"Neither of us had anticipated this possible outcome. Once the reality of it sank in Max became my teacher, and showed me how to control myself, and how to fight. Can't say that I was ever comfortable with the whole action hero routine but Max insisted... in case Lydecker ever got through her to me," That sadness that she had noticed before passed fleetingly over his face again. Tima hoped ferverently that he would explain what was so painful to him. 

Instead and in a famous Logan Cale change of subject he said, "So what about you? What does TIMA mean exactly? And what are you doing in Seattle?" 

Tima was startled by the sudden change of subject, "Uh it is more of a designation really," she started. It was Logan's turn to look confused. Tima smiled coyly, "It means 'Third in Military Assessment'" she took a deep breath, "I'm an X-10, and I was two years ahead of my classmates, but Military Assessment was my worst subject. The others were so astonished that they took to calling me by the title. Soon after they shortened it to the acronym and the name stuck." she looked up to see him smiling in mild amusement. 

"You're not still in Manticore?" he asked. 

She looked away again and shook her head, "As I said I was way ahead of my class... Lydecker made the decision to move me to a group of other exceptionally talented kids like me. I was moved that very night. 

"In transit the truck was bombed, my escorts killed and I was badly injured. But I stood by the wreckage, thinking that they would come and find me once they realized that I hadn't made it to my destination. I waited for a week, only stumbling away with the realization that I was in bad shape and in need of medical attention. 

"A couple found me passed out on the side of the road, and took me to the hospital for the attention I desperately needed. I was there for several weeks, but as soon as I was better I moved on," she pursed her lips, "I never thanked them for their help. I was that determined to return to Manticore. I searched for years until I arrived at the base I had been originally scheduled to be sent to, only to find it deserted. From that point on I just wandered, town to town and city to city, hoping to find someone like me…someone who could take me back and return me to where I belong. I never came across a soul who would help me. Most people treated me like a freak because of my eyes and the bar code on my forehead. By the time I was seven I realized the prudence of hiding the mark just to keep from singled out. People only did it once though, after that I was left alone." 

"No friends made along the way?" Logan asked shaking his head. 

She looked him dead in the eyes, "NONE." 


	6. Revelations

Chapter six: Revelations 

"You really want back in?" Logan asked confused by the intensity of Tima's desire. 

"It's where I belong," Tima answered emotionally, "I was loved there, they were my family," She was on her feet overrun by her emotions. 

"But... you were five... how could you be sure that they still feel the same way?" 

"I'm sure!" She bit out, "This world holds no interest for me or about me. I have spent my entire time on the outside as an outcast, no one wanted me, and no one loved me. I have had to scrounge out a living my entire life and I'm tired of it. I want back in where they actually gave a damn about me."

"I'm sorry, I just don't understand that logic," Logan whispered. He sighed, his brows furrowing again, "Max spent her entire life running from Manticore and the treatment she received there. I was under the impression that you were the same way, that you felt abandoned by them, that you resented them." 

Her eyes were hot on him now, "Resent them? Why would I resent them? They taught me everything I know. I can't blame them for losing track of me. It is a big wide world out there, and we were taught that if we got lost in it we were to check in within two days with the facility nearest our position. If that didn't happen, we were written off as a casualty. If Max ran from them then she was a fool... All of X-5's were fools!" she spit, "Throwing a good thing away and for what?" 

Before she had realized what happened, Logan was on his feet and had backhanded her across the face. She stared in shock into those angry blue eyes and the pain that she had glimpsed several times this night was there to be seen again just under the surface.

He was very close to her now, "Lydecker is a ruthless megalomaniac who spent years hunting the X-5's down. At first he was just interested in recapturing them, but then he began to kill in cold blood those who continued to run. He maimed and killed anyone whom he saw as an obstruction to his objective. Zach was tortured nearly to death, and then buried alive." 

His eyes glanced off her face to look away, and she saw that they were watery with tears.

"They hounded Max. For nearly all the time that I knew her, they tracked her here to Seattle and tried to capture her. She had refused to run anymore…she had decided that I was worth standing and fighting for.

"She stayed here for me you see, even when she understood that Manticore was close. She stayed for a cripple in a wheelchair," He sighed, "At first I think it was because she felt guilty. She felt that she was the reason that I had ended up there. Even after I was back on my feet she stayed around, because by then she had another reason to stay

"It grew into something else…We fell in love. We married four years ago. Interesting really being able to do the things Max did. She insisted as my abilities grew that I practice them," He stopped again and the pain was plain to read on his face now, "Fat lot of good it did when they finally caught up to Max. Despite all the training that Max had given me, I was powerless to stop Lydecker," Logan finished in a whisper.

Tima, unsure what to say, asked, "They captured her?" 

His eyes were back on her his face ugly with anguish, "They..." He trailed off swallowing hard, "They killed her," he continued to stare at her, remaining silent as he warred with demons within himself. 

When he regained his composure he continued, "We were out for a walk, just enjoying the night, enjoying each others company.... When we were ambushed near here by Lydecker's men. We tried, and almost succeeded, at escaping them. One of the soldiers' bullets caught me in the leg causing me to stumble and fall. I was bleeding badly, the bullet had passed through my thigh and I was in too much pain to continue. I... told Max to keep going, to just forget me for the moment, as Lydecker's men surrounded me. She didn't listen to me, she hesitated, just as they had known she would. 

"I kept admonishing her to leave me, finally convincing her that she did not want to end up back in a cage," He swallowed again, "She waited too long. Lydecker ordered his men to shoot her and I watched helplessly as one hit a knee and began firing. The bullets caught her as she was leaping for the third floor of the nearest building. They were kill shots.

"She tried desperately to hang on, but eventually she lost consciousness and fell back to Earth. I broke free of the soldiers, ignoring my own pain and weakness as I ran to her broken form. I could only cradle her in my arms and watch as her life slipped away," Logan looked down at his hands, which were white-knuckled on the chair he was standing behind. He consciously made himself let it go before it split, "Before I could do anything, release the rage that was building inside of me they knocked me out. I am still surprised that they didn't kill me right then. I guess they thought that I would bleed out before help arrived and just left me. I woke later, alone, only a pool of blood next to me, a mingling of Max's blood and my own. The alley ended up being her final resting place.

"To add insult to injury, in killing Max that night they also took our baby."

"What?" Tima said softly.

Logan nodded, "Max was four months pregnant at the time. They never realized that they got two for the price of one that night. They didn't even know it... if they had possessed a clue about the baby they never would have taken the shot. It would have been of too much value in research," He laughed not amused, "I can only assume they took Max's body to reap her DNA for future projects…" Logan paused again taking a shaky breath.

"I'm sorry," Tima said softly.

The apology seemed to catalyze something in Logan because his face darkened into an ugly anguished and angry mask, "THAT is the Manticore I know, Tima. Ruthless bastards willing to do anything to maintain control of their technology. They treat their soldiers as property, as cattle! They feel that they have the right to trade, buy, or kill their 'kids' as they see fit." 

His intense eyes bored into her as he continued to speak, "If they ever find out about what Max's blood has done to me…Can you imagine just how much interest a human with Manticore abilities would generate for Manticore? Can you think of just what lengths they would go to in their attempt to get me into a cage? I am not going to go down like that, and I am not going to become some prize experiment for them to poke and prod at. I can't get involved with you…You are going to prove bane to me…to my freedom." 

Logan smiled but there was no humor in it, more like a wolf baring its teeth. 

"But you know things…Where the installations are. Why won't you help me go back?"

"I've only just met you!" He growled suddenly, "That I've told you so much already scares me. What would stop you from telling Lydecker about me?"

"I wouldn't…I promise that," Tima argued.

"Oh yeah? Max told me of some of the methods they use to extract information from unwilling subjects. You would be unable to stop yourself.

"Even if I did trust you…Didn't you hear what I told you? Lydecker doesn't take Manticore renegades back anymore…he kills them."

"He won't kill me," Tima argued, "Because I want to come back…the others didn't, that was why reindoctrination didn't work for them. No, Lydecker will take me back."

"You're deluding yourself," Logan growled again then fell silent again, no longer able to meet her eyes, lost in his own thoughts. This time Tima had enough sense to keep her mouth shut and let him be. 

After agonizing minutes Logan sighed scratching his head and seeming to relent from the hard line he had just given her, "Let me see if I can locate a Manticore operation in the area for you. I am sure that Lydecker and Co. will be more than happy to have you back," He turned away and moved stiffly back toward the study where this whole line of discussion got started. 

Tima was confused, "But I thought..." 

Without looking back he said, "If you want to go back... who am I to say no?" 

A wave of excitement welled up in her at the statement, realizing that she was very close to realizing an eleven-year-old dream. She was going to go home…Finally! She began to wonder what her brother's and sisters would say when they saw her come back after such a long absence.

A cloud passed over those happier thoughts as Logan's own account of Manticore rattled through her head. Did it really change so much from when she was there? Logan's version of what Manticore was an ulcer in her mind and casting doubts on her own memories of her five years there. She followed wordlessly as the want of acceptance surged to push back her doubt.


	7. Reinduction

Chapter 7: Reinduction

Tima's cheek still stung from where he hit her, and a part of her still wanted to be mad at him despite the wound he had laid open before her. On the other hand she was unsure that he wasn't entirely justified in his reaction. 

Logan was all business after his outburst and made no more mention as he tore through security codes and hacked into computers at an accelerated speed. She watched fascinated by the speed at which he maneuvered through the Net. It was amazing how easily he could to rip through others computers in his search for a Manticore contact.

"Do you think that you could teach me some of this?" She asked eagerly as she watched, "I would never have to touch another soul again." 

He smiled without looking at her but the smile went no further than his mouth, "Maybe..." He said distantly, as if he had only half heard what she had said to him. Then he added, "You have no idea how hard it was to find a computer fast enough to keep up with me these days. This is custom built and it still irritates me by how slow it is," he said as he plunged into a database he had no business even being able to touch much less gain access to. 

He went silent again as he became entirely wrapped up in his queries. An uncomfortable silence fell over the place and Tima could make out the clock ticking in his kitchen. 

"Here we go," he said finally, causing her to jump after the drawn out silence, "There is a Manticore base right here in Washington, it seems. Just East of here at an old Air Force Base." 

He looked over at her for the first time in an hour, "What I don't get is how you could go all these years and never run into another Manticore... not even the X-5's that are still floating around. Especially when Max and I could never seem to get away from them." 

She shrugged, "Bad Luck I guess," and backed up as he pushed away from the console. She couldn't meet his eyes as she turned to face him, "Look I'm sorry... about what I said earlier. I had no right to judge Max's decisions." 

Logan smiled more warmly this time and there was a hint of embarrassment in his eyes as he said, "I should be the one to apologize. There was no need for the reaction I had... It's just that," His brows furrowed, "Max taught me how to live again, something I had insulated myself from way up here. Poor rich boy with nothing to do but play with his toys," He laughed without humor, "She filled a hole I hadn't even know existed in my life," He sighed again.

"When I lost her and lost the baby... I was devastated and it took me a long time to pull my life back together again. And I still find myself getting very defensive about her. It doesn't excuse my actions," And again an uncomfortable silence fell over the room. Logan finally turned away and pulled a printed map from his printer and showed it to her, "Let's see if we can't get you home, shall we?" 

Logan approached the perimeter fence of the air base slowly, throwing the Aztec into park and shutting off the engine. He had been running without lights for the last five miles to lessen their chances of being detected by those who now occupied the base. A thin fog had added to their cloak. Logan was thankful for Max's gift as he looked around him and saw everything clearly. 

Logan looked at Tima, "Are you certain that this is what you want to do?" He asked her yet again. Tima was shaking with excitement and anxiety and could only nod in answer. Logan shrugged, "Alright," he replied and stepped out of the vehicle. Tima mirrored him and they approached the fence side by side. In unison they looked up at the ten-foot fence topped with razor wire. Then they looked at each other, "Well good luck Tima. I hope that you find what you're looking for," Logan said to her. Then he looked down, "Do me a favor will you?" 

"What," she asked. 

"Don't mention me to them when you get back in." 

"Why's that?" 

"I don't want to be forced to live the life Max lived," He said smiling as he looked back at her.

"I promise," Tima "Well good luck," And he turned back toward his car.

"Wait!" Tima said stopping him. He looked at her with a raised eyebrow, "Come with me... just until I see Lydecker." 

"I'd rather not... Entering a Manticore installation is not exactly something I am good at. That was Max's bag." 

"Please, Logan, I'm... scared," she bit her lip unhappy with having to say that to him. 

Logan shook his head, "You're going to have to do this one yourself, Tima," He looked away as his face darkened, "Besides If I get near Lydecker I will kill him. That would kinda spoil your chances of going back wouldn't it." 

Tima smiled nervously and nodded. She backed up several steps and gracefully cleared the fence landing lightly on the other side. She looked back once. 

"I'll wait until they have taken you back then I'll leave. I'll back you if anything goes wrong." 

She nodded again and started away from him. 

Logan watched as Tima moved through the complex. She looked into each of the windows as she passed them continuing on when she didn't see what she wanted to see. 

He backed away from the fence concealing himself in the fog. He tracked her with his eyes and listened carefully for any sign that she had been discovered. There was none so far, and he leaned onto the Aztec and monitored her progress, behind his eyes as well as with his more normal senses. 

Logan watched as Tima's dark shape stopped just before a large square of open space before her. She carefully surveyed the area, here she waited for long drawn out moments taut with trying to sense danger. Then she stood straight and dashed across, only to be pinned by spotlights as she reached the halfway point. Logan approached the fence again, trying to get a better view through the fog, as the dark shapes of soldiers appeared out of the woodwork to surround her frozen form. 

Logan grit his teeth as his stomach sank and he tried desperately to ignore it. He knew only too well what the feeling meant. Something terrible was about to happen to the girl he had brought here. He told himself incessantly that she was going to be OK; that for once his danger sense was wrong. He needed to avoid getting involved in this situation, as this was the last place that he needed to demonstrate his abilities. Lydecker might even be here, that would be good of him jump in looking like some thing out of a martial arts film with Lydecker there to witness it. Then if he didn't kill him, Lydecker would spend the rest of his days trying to figure out who he was and get him into a nice cramped little cell. 

But this was not going to be a smooth reinduction for her. In fact what he was feeling told him that she would end up dead if he didn't do something to stop them.

"Damn," He whispered as his conscience got the best of him. He backed away from the fence again judging what it would take, muttering to himself, "Let's see if I still remember how to do this," and gathering himself he leapt, nicely clearing it but landing awkwardly the other side of the perimeter. He straightened and quickly made himself parts of the nearest wall, watching events unfold around Tima. He looked back a moment memorizing his landmarks thinking, "I need more practice. I am way rusty at this." 

Logan hugged the building as he approached the perimeter of the circle surrounding Tima. 

Tima surveyed the circle of soldiers surrounding her, cautious but not afraid. Loudly she announced, "I am X-10, My code is 926473899, I have been MIA for 11 years and wish to return home," She searched featureless masks surrounding her, looking for some sign of reaction from them, "I wish to speak to Lydecker." she asserted. 

She watched as one of the soldiers relaxed his aim and pulled off his helmet, "Tima?" the man said squinting at her. The bar code between his brows was plain to see and she knew the number. 

"Kito?" Tima asked happily, as he stepped up close to her. She embraced him tightly tears running down her face. She noticed that several others had begun to do the same.

They separated a moment as Kito and Tima looked each other over, "You've grown," Kito observed. 

"So have you," Tima replied. 

"How did you find us?" 

"That's not important," she evaded, "All that matters is that I am home." 

"Back to your position soldier!" A loud voice boomed. Kito and Tima both looked to the source of the voice. Kito's eyes went wide and he reluctantly resumed his position in the circle around them. The mystery figure stepped into the light and Tima's heart leapt. It was Lydecker! She popped to a smart attention before him, as he looked her over.

Lydecker looked older... much older than she had imagined he would. His stern face was deeply lined and his hair was receding and thin over most of his head now. It detracted nothing from the feel of authority he exuded. 

"What have we here?" He asked, circling her like a shark. She stood shock still allowing his eyes to move over her. She was silently wishing that she had taken all of her ornamentation off before coming here. She hoped that Lydecker would not think less of her for her oversight. He stopped as he circled around to face her and his eyes locked onto the bar-code on her forehead, "Tima..." He breathed, then more strongly, "We thought that you had been killed with your escorts on the way to Oregon." 

"Those facts were misconstrued sir," She answered crisply, her chin raising ever so slightly. Her heart beat rapid succession, proud and happy that he had remembered her, when he had some many children to look after over his time in Manticore.

"The matter of your extraction was complicated when your escorts deviated from the prescribed route. It took the extraction team more than a month to find the wreckage. We did try to find you Tima, we really did." He said sincerely. 

A tear rolled down her cheek, "Thank you, sir." 

"So," He said looking down at her, "You're ready to come home?" 

"Yes sir," she said with enthusiasm, "More than." 

He looked down pursing his lips; "Well... that IS a problem, isn't it?" 

"Sir?" She asked confused. 

Lydecker stepped back training a gun at her, "Reinduction doesn't work, Tima. No matter how much you want to come back, you can't. You're too tainted by the world to be of any use to Me," Even as he said it Tima could see that he was pained by this course of action. He didn't want to kill her, he felt he had to.

"SIR!" Kito said desperately from his spot in line. 

"Quiet," Lydecker ordered, "You know as well as I do that it has to be done!"


	8. EscapeConsequences

Chapter 8: Escape 

No one seemed to be paying much attention to what was going on at the edges of their loose circle. No one seemed to notice Logan as he watched from the sidelines. He winced as he watched Lydecker approached Tima, feeling his blood rise. He focused closely on their conversation as his danger sense went into overdrive. He tried to tell himself that it was his own want for vengeance that was tainting what his senses were telling him. Logan was trying to convince himself that it was goading him into a fight that he wasn't a part of. After all what loyalty did he really have toward this girl? They had only just met anyway.

He was still trying to deny what it was telling him eve though somewhere deep down he knew that it was telling him the absolute truth.

Logan tensed as he saw the gun come out and train on Tima.. Logan went into action before he even considered thinking the odds of success through. He leapt high sailing over the surrounding guards and landing very near Tima, but even closer to Lydecker. He was privy to the look of utter shock on the older man's face as he realized what was happening. Logan had just taken over control of the situation, and he didn't give Lydecker time to recover.

He immediately clapped both hands onto Lydecker's wrist, knocking the gun free, and listening to it thud dully in the dirt. Logan followed through with a mule kick to the gut, hearing Lydecker grunt in pain and knocking him to the ground. He smiled maliciously at the sound, giving him only a little of the pain that he had dealt Logan over the years, and enjoying himself in the process. 

Before the soldiers around them could react, Logan grabbed a struggling Tima and leapt over the circle of soldiers. He had not even felt his feet touch the ground beyond the circle when he gathered himself and leapt again, easily making the rooftop before he took another breath. 

Tima was struggling with all her strength against him and he ducked back as a fist lashed out his direction. He snagged her arm and pinned it to her side.

"Tima!" He admonished her. 

"Let me go!" She said still struggling, trying to claw her fingers under his grip.

"Tima he was going to kill you!" He growled.

"He didn't want to! I can convince him to take me back!" She moaned, "I want to go home!" 

Further argument was curtailed when one of the Manticore soldiers made the roof very near them. Logan let Tima go and they both reacted immediately, rolling clear of the line of fire. Tima regained her feet a split second before Logan sweeping out and toppling the aggressor. She then pushed him from the roof. There was a heavy grunt as he hit the ground below them.

Logan left her to tangle with the two others that had just gained the roof. He instead sprinted toward the end of the building nearest the perimeter fence. He looked back satisfied that she was in self-preservation mode and not trying to ditch him and rejoin. He screeched to a halt as he came to the edge of the building, never having gotten completely over his fear of heights.

Tima yelled, "Go!" at his back which spurred him on. 

Logan quickly judged the distance, leapt, and knew immediately that he was going to fall short of clearing the fence. He cried out as his foot tangled into the razor wire and he fell forward against the chain link hanging upside down.

He reached up trying to free his foot, cringing as a shadow passed over his head. His heart was beating fast fearing the worst, that the Manticore soldiers had overcome Tima and now were after him. He was therefore relieved when he looked back to find that it was Tima. 

She was looking at him with a mixture of amusement and impatience crossing her face. He returned his attention to freeing himself. Shortly he untangled his foot from the razor wire, hopped down, and limped to Tima's side. As he did the other two pursuers landed in front of them circling slowly to divide their attention. Neither Logan nor Tima gave them a chance to gain the upper hand, working back to back they took them down quickly. When they realized that no more immediate threats were presenting themselves they both sprinted for the car. 

They quickly got into the Aztec and Logan gunned it squealing tires as they sped off into the fog. Logan made his way with no lights ensuring that they had not been followed, thanking Max again silently for all that she had taught him and the gift that she had endowed him with.

When he was sure that there was no pursuit, he looked over at Tima. She was curled up on her seat, back to him and she could hear the heavy sobs that wracked her. He wanted to comfort her but could think of no good way to do it, so he remained silent the rest of the way back to Seattle. 

They had been lucky. Logan had been prudent in his positioning of the escape vehicle. There had been only five Manticore's in the group and Kito had refused to be a part of the posse. That had left Logan and Tima at an advantage in their fight to win free. That did not make Logan feel any better, knowing how heartbroken Tima was about the chain of events that left her stranded yet again. He glanced over at her once more seeing how she was fairing. She was silent now, and it looked as if she was sleeping. Logan's mouth thinned again, not agreeing with her want to return but feeling her pain none the less. 

The lights of the city began to light the horizon and Logan sighed heavily glad to be home finally.

Epilogue: Consequences

Logan sat in his apartment trying gingerly to peel his sock away from his ankle now caked with blood and pounding with dull fury. He sucked air through his teeth as a section stuck tearing at the already raw nerves. Once that was complete he set to soaking it with a warm washcloth to soak the clots out and clean out whatever dirt the razor wire had managed to insert under his skin. 

Logan looked up to where Tima sat with a sense of Deja Vu yet again. She was sitting looking out the large bay windows that enclosed his living room. He could see from where he sat that her eyes were red and puffy from crying. That was one thing that he was not used to, Max had rarely cried, Tima on the other hand was not near as emotionally strong. She was still silent and glum and hadn't said a word to him since they had returned. In fact he was unsure why she had even hung around. She had followed him up to his place like a Zombie, as if she had no will to even try to make a decision at this point. 

It was much the same place that Max used to sit when she was having problems in her life, staring out at the fog or the skyline. A shiver ran though his body as he looked at her. It seemed preordained that he would be involved with the complicated world surrounding Manticore, ever effecting his life it seemed.

So he had been drawn back into the life he had been trying so hard to avoid these past three years. He wasn't sure if he was happy about that, but another part of him was more alive than it had been since Max had died. 

He finished treating his leg shortly and stood limping nearer where Tima sat. Logan was unsure what to say, finally clearing his throat he said, "There is an extra bedroom if you want to hang around." 

Tima started, obviously lost in her own indiscernible thoughts. She turned her startling green eyes up to his face smiling thinly. 

She shook her head as she looked away. Standing, seemingly reluctant, and said, "No I need to go back to my place," there was no enthusiasm to her response.

"Are you going to be OK?" Logan asked genuinely concerned. She may have been on the streets her whole life but she was still only a sixteen-year-old who had just suffered a major blow to the whole structure of her belief system.

She nodded again, smiling with a little more feeling, "Thanks... I'll be OK." 

Logan only nodded, "If you need anything..." 

"I'll drop by. Thank you for your help." 

"I'm sorry it didn't turn out better." 

"How could you know?" she shrugged. 

Logan walked her to the door. He wanted to say more, but knew that now was not the time, that she was still too shook up. 

Several weeks later: 

Logan stood out on the balcony looking out onto the skyline of the city. He took a deep breath trying to calm his racing heart at the sight. He was still uncomfortable with his proximity to the 35-floor drop to the street below. He forced himself to do this, sooner or later he was going to be free of his fear of heights, as he had overcome every other hurdle placed in his way. 

Logan heard the thump behind him and slowly turned around smiling, "Hello Tima." 

She stood up and walked slowly toward him, "How'd you guess?" she said sarcastically.

Logan shrugged not giving any definitive answer. None was expected, "How're you doing?"

She looked away, "Better, I guess. I've decided to hang around a while longer. Pickin's good around here."

"Don't get any ideas," he said with a laugh, "I kicked your butt before and I will do it again."

Tima smiled, "No, it's nothing like that. Just stopped in to say hi... and thanks. For knocking some sense into me back at the base." 

Logan nodded, "You sure it's a good idea for you to hang out here? I mean now that Lydecker knows your alive your life may be in jeopardy. I told you how obsessive he was about keeping the tech to himself." 

Tima's face darkened, "Let him try," She growled, "He's abandoned me twice now. I have a score to settle with him."

Logan looked away himself, "Tima, it's probably best if you just drop it. Revenge is not going to make you feel better about it. I should know. Looking for that kind of trouble will only get you captured or killed.

"You would not believe how badly I wanted to kill Lydecker when we were at his base... But I found an even better revenge… to get you away from him. That is going to eat at him more and cause him more suffering than killing him straight away." 

Tima smiled again, "You know you're right." 

"Of course I am," Logan said jokingly. 


End file.
